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Science 20 January 2006:
Vol. 311. no. 5759, p. 299
DOI: 10.1126/science.311.5759.299f
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This Week in Science

Water ice glaciers flank mountains and volcanoes in the tropics and midlatitudes of Mars. Current conditions on Mars are cold and dry and restrict water ice to regions near the poles, so the origin of these young glaciers at lower latitudes is a puzzle. Forget et al. (p. 368) used climate simulations of the planet at high obliquity to explain the locations of the glaciers. A few million years ago, the rotation axis of Mars was tilted by up to 45°, which caused more water vapor to evaporate from the poles into the atmosphere. Circulating across the planet, this watery mist then precipitated to build up glaciers on the leeward side of volcanoes and in mountainous regions.




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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)